dcaufandomcom-20200222-history
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a powerful businessman and criminal mastermind. He is widely considered to be one of Earth's most brilliant minds and is the greatest human enemy of Superman. = History = Origins Born on an unspecified date in the Suicide Slum section of Metropolis, Lex Luthor came from nothing. Determined to escape the harshness of his home life, Lex became completely focused on acquiring personal power at any and all costs. In this respect, Lex Luthor is an admirably self-made man. With the aid of his natural genius and his general lack of conscience, Luthor assembled a vast fortune by his early thirties and founded LexCorp. Through a combination of Luthor's ruthless business tactics and genuine ingenuity, LexCorp quickly became one of the largest corporations in the United States. Now clearly the most powerful man in Metropolis, Luthor's ego and pride drove him to try and position himself as the face of of the city, donating millions to charity and erecting libraries, schools, and hospitals in his name. However, at heart, Luthor was devious, shrewd, and cold. Metropolis was to be an empire, with Luthor as absolute ruler. LexCorp forced virtual monopolies on public works, technology, transportation, and even became a major defense contractor--all with the underlying goal of collecting more and more power for the greedy Luthor. Challenged By An Alien It was this lust for power that eventually made him the sworn enemy to Superman. From the start, the very idea of an alien who appeared to be human possessing incredible power disturbed Lex. However, that reasonable suspicion soon erupted into personal jealousy and malicious intent. The fact that Luthor could not bribe or hire the newcomer, or alter the public's perception of Superman's actions, angered Lex all the more. Luthor's hatred was and is heavily fueled by his sheer envy of Superman; the hero overshadowed Luthor as Metropolis's favorite son from the day of his first public appearance and was born with abilities far beyond those of mortal men like Lex.(STAS: "The Last Son of Krypton, part III") After years of carrying around kryptonite in his pocket, Luthor gained a form of kryptonite poisoning, something only those who have been exposed to it for extended periods of time. Luthor was forced to go to prison after his attempted murder of Superman. (JL: "Injustice for All") After The Fall In prison, he teamed up with Ultra-Humanite, enabling their escape. However, the criminal masterminds were recaptured when their attempts to form an Injustice Gang were foiled. The party responsible was the Ultra-Humanite, who sold Luthor out to the Batman (in exchange for a sizable monetary donation to public television, of all things.) However, despite that failure Luthor received a chest plate that prevented the kryptonite poisoning from worsening, and a he acquired a battle suit powerful enough to fight the Justice League directly. (JL: "Injustice for All") Lex returned again, taking sides with a supersoldier-type cyborg called Amazo. After tricking Amazo into doing his dirty work and destroying the Justice League, Amazo copied all of the Justice League's powers and nearly killed them. But when Amazo acquired J'onn J'onzz's mind-reading capability, he discovered Luthor's true intentions. Amazo decided to spare Luthor's life and flew off into space. (JL: "Tabula Rasa") Luthor was later pardoned for helping the Justice League strip the Justice Lords of their powers, and claimed (falsely) in a press conference that he'd sworn off violence against Superman and the Justice League in order to concentrate on more noble aspirations. To this end, Luthor was now looking into politics--more specifically, he sought the U.S. Presidency. (JL: "A Better World") Return To Form After failing to destroy Superman and the Justice League, Luthor was exposed as a criminal to the public at large. Carrying memories of the destroyed Brainiac in his head, Luthor arranged a coup of Gorilla Grodd's super-villain army in order to resurrect Brainiac and gain a god-like level of power. The attempt failed and instead revived the fallen Darkseid, who vowed to destroy Superman and conquer Earth once and for all. Reluctantly teaming with arch-rivals Superman and Batman to stop Darkseid, Luthor was recruited by New God Metron, who directed Luthor towards the resting place of Darkseid's most valued prize: the Anti-Life Equation. Using the power of the cosmic Anti-Life Equation, Luthor stopped Darkseid from killing Superman, and in effect saved the Earth. In doing so, he and Darkseid disappeared from this plane of existence completely in an explosion of light and energy.(JLU: Season 3) Final Fate? Despite their disappearance, there is no evidence that Luthor or Darkseid actually died in the climactic explosion in Metropolis. Lex Luthor may indeed return one day in some form or another. = Powers & Abilities = Although a normal human, Lex Luthor possesses a keen intellect as well as a photographic memory. At his peak, his vast intelligence and technological know-how is matched only by notables such as Mr. Terrific and Bruce Wayne, though Lex is not quite as skilled a combatant. He rarely wades into combat without some sort of weapon; be it a power suit, gun, or a chunk of Kryptonite to deal with Superman. Perhaps his greatest asset is his ruthlessness, as he will go to absolutely any end to get what he wants, regardless of the consequences. Early in Superman's career, Lex proved reluctant to directly engage Superman, preferring to leave physical confrontations to the hired help (most notably chauffeur/bodyguard Mercy Graves.) However, as his obsession with Superman grew, Luthor employed more destructive and elaborate technology in his pursuit of the Kryptonian, to the point where he would attempt to engage Superman in combat on several occasions. He would later personally develop numerous customized devices that would neutralize enemies and allies alike; a talent that enabled him to hold sway over even the most powerful members of Grodd's Secret Society, most notably Grodd himself. He was also not above resorting to magic, as evidenced by his acquisition of a certain mystic medallion (similar to one belonging to the Phantom Stranger) in order to defend himself from magic-users such as Tala. Post-Brainiac Period After being infected by parts of Brainiac, Lex Luthor's body was fully restored to health and slightly enhanced. The result increased his strength (making him more than a match for The Question and possibly even the Batman) significantly and likely increased his intellect. This was reflected later on when he was able to access the Anti-Life Equation despite Metron's caution that it was an object that only a "12th Level Intellect" could claim. Luthor dismissed the warning by simply saying: "I'm over-qualified." Brainiac 5 In the 30th Century, Brainiac 5, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, claims that his "ancestor" is the original Brainiac of Krypton. Brainiac 5 claims a 12th-level intellect, and mentions that the first Brainiac discovered a way to reproduce himself biologically. In theory this could be related to the merging of Brainiac's thought patterns with Lex Luthor's human brain. This also raises the possibility that Brainiac 5 is a direct descendant of Luthor himself. (JLU: Far From Home) = Appearances = Superman: The Animated Series *"The Last Son of Krypton, Part II" *"The Last Son of Krypton, Part III" *"A Little Piece of Home" *"The Way of All Flesh" *"Stolen Memories" *"The Main Man, Part 1" *"My Girl" *"Blasts from the Past, Part I" *"Livewire" *"Identity Crisis" *"Target" *"Solar Power" *"Brave New Metropolis" *"Ghost in the Machine" *"World's Finest" *"Bizarro's World" *"Prototype" *"Apokolips... Now, Part II" *"A Fish Story" *"Legacy" [[Justice League (animated series)|'Justice League']] *"Injustice For All" *"Legends, Part I" *"Fury, Part I" *"Tabula Rasa" *"Only a Dream, Part I" *"A Better World" *"Hereafter, Part I" [[Justice League Unlimited (animated series)|'Justice League Unlimited']] *"The Return" *"Doomsday Sanction" *"Double Date" *"Clash" *"Question Authority" *"Flashpoint" *"Panic in the Sky" *"Divided We Fall" *"I Am Legion" *"To Another Shore" *"Dead Reckoning" *"The Great Brain Robbery" *"Grudge Match" *"Alive!" *"Destroyer" Luthor, Lex Luthor, Lex Luthor, Lex